Goat herd recommended at Hartwood Acres to eat invasive plants
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An ecological assessment of Hartwood Acres recommends methods to combat invasive plant species in the park — including the use of goats.
The Allegheny Parks Foundation released the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s ecological assessment of Hartwood Acres, a county park straddling Indiana and Hampton townships.
Seems that pesky Japanese stiltgrass, a soft green grass that overtakes everything in its path, is a “particular threat in this respect because it can colonize shaded areas, it prevents regeneration of native tree species, and it is rapidly expanding within the park,” according to the assessment.
Dealing with the invasive species will be a multiyear war waged in the county parks. The county parks ranger corps currently works on volunteer project sites in North Park to get rid of invasive plants.
“It’s going to take goats and human labor,” stressed Caren Glotfelty, executive director of the Allegheny Parks Foundation. “We will battle on all fronts.”
A Benedum Foundation grant of $100,000 paid for assessments of Hartwood and another county park, Settlers Cabin. Additionally, the Garden Club of Allegheny County contributed $5,000 for the Hartwood study.
Glotfelty does not know when the ranger invasive plant program will come to Hartwood.
But the foundation will be looking for funding to bring a herd of goats to the park to help with eradication efforts.
Other issues in the assessment included gaps in the forest canopy in parts of the park caused by overbrowsing by deer, which has prevented young trees from regenerating the forest. Drainage is another issue, especially by the horse stables.
Acting on the recommendations of the assessment, the Foundation plans this year to create a four-acre wet meadow and plant some 400 trees near the Middle Road parking lot and Central Elementary School, according to Glotfelty.
Tree Pittsburgh is providing the trees, the Charity Randall Foundation is donating $6,000 for the meadow, and county workers will prepare the site.
The Allegheny Parks Foundation already performed ecological assessments for Boyce and South parks and it would like to conduct more for the five remaining county parks, according to Glotfelty.
“These assessments have become valuable tools for fundraising and helps guide county parks’ staff,” she said. The county parks “are worth far more than they cost.”